Still Reminds Me of You
by Sylentia Levin
Summary: OC usage, Song-fic. Aika is an Iwa-runaway kunoichi and found love in the arms of one called Neji Hyuuga. But where will she turn to after his death?


Disclaimer ; I don't own anything.. except this fic...

Notes : Sorry if my English isn't that good! I'm using an OC called Aika, she's supposed to be a runaway kunoichi from Iwa when she was younger. A NejiOC SasuOC pairing... Don't like don't read... I used the lyrics from Anggun's song called Still Reminds Me. Look it up, it's a nice song.

_Still Reminds Me_

_--_

_I cut off my hair_

_Put some red on every nail on my feet_

_I think it's pretty_

_I repainted all the rooms_

_Got a cat named June_

_Obviously, I think she's happy_

_--_

A girl sat on the edge of a roof.

It's been weeks since he went. He has never broken promises before but there's got to be a first time for everything. Too bad this was the first and last promise he'd ever break, though Aika didn't exactly mind. He'd still love her right? But now, that question was just something she couldn't ask him anymore. Hell, she couldn't ask him anything now! Not now that he's gone... That's he's dead... There were just so many things that he promised her... Returning safely was one of them.

When he told her about that mission, she knew that something's going to go horribly wrong. She had begged him not to go but the only thing he did was kissing her forehead. But even though she had let him go, she was worried as hell. He'd already got heavily wounded and almost got killed on that mission to retrieve the Uchiha, and those were only a few of those S-Ranked criminals. And now? He and his teammates had to go and face the whole Akatsuki group? That's practically suicide! Tsunade even got the Suna ninjas into this, which was rather crazy in Aika's own opinion.

She remembered the times when she was worried sick about Neji everytime he went on a mission and always waited at the gates for him to come back. And when he showed up, she'd always glomp him and get mad at him for some pointless reason.

Aika smiled to herself when those memories came back.

When she was small, Aika didn't have many friends only because she had a scarlet-colored left eye and a brown right eye. It was nonsense to be scared of her, really, but some kids had also spread weird lies and rumors stating that she's a vessel just like Naruto. That's why not a lot of people want to be friends with her. And if they do, they never want to be approached by her, or even talk to her in public. Only a few weren't like that and Neji was one of them. He became her best friend and he listened to her rants and was like a big brother to her. She trusted him with her secrets, and so did Neji trust Aika with his. When the Souken-Bunken problem got to the surface, she was the only one he came to and told her every little thing about it, while crying his heart out; when he noticed that Tenten liked him and started indirectly chasing him, she was the one who he came to and told her how annoying Tenten was; when Neji realized he liked Tenten, Aika was the only girl he came to for help; and everytime he has a problem, Aika was always the one he came to; he was never cold to her.

But now he was.

He was as cold as ice, buried in the ground. She knew how it felt to lose your loved ones; she knew pain all too well.

Aika sighed and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

Neji has promised alot of things to her. And if they were not any of the futuristic type of promise, he'd always succeeded in fulfilling them.

But now, he was only a memory. His promises couldn't mean anything to her now. Though she still wanted to believe that he'd come back soon, embrace her and tell her that he'd never ever leave her again; it was all just a fantasy and she knew all too well that it'd never ever happen. It was just too good to be true.

She had tried everything possible and logical that came into her head to try and forget him, but nothing seemed to be able take him from her mind. And now she was desperate.

Aika stood up as a brown leaf passed her as it rode on the wind. She knew that there was nothing she could live for now. She doesn't have any friends and the only thing, the only person that motivated her to live and carry on with life... She didn't have anything to live for now.

_--_

_Friends threw some parties_

_I've been to them all and there's not one that I missed_

_--_

Aika walked to the edge of the roof carelessly and looked down. It was quite high. One jump and you'd be dead for sure. She lowered her chakra level the most lowest she could get it and stumbled clumsily over to the edge, her toes touching air. She already felt dizzy; you could die if you lost chakra and at this point, her chakra level was just so low that she could barely see and stand straight anymore. She also knew that with her current state she could die the minute before she hit ground.

She took a step off the roof and fell, the wind whistling in her ears and she knew that she'd hit ground soon... but as she waited for the hard smack...

It never came.

Instead, she felt herself fall onto those strong arms she knew too well; she even heard a whisper in that reassuring voice she yearned to hear for weeks... But she couldn't protest anymore; she was too weak to even blink. In a second, she was fully unconscious.

After what had felt like hours, Aika blinked open her eyes and looked around. Since when did she got in the hospital?? As she sat up, she noticed Hinata walking in from the door.

"Hinata..."

"Oh! Aika-kun! You're already conscious? All of us thought that you'd never wake up. You're in the hospital."

"How long have I been here?" she asked as she held her head.

"Two weeks or so. I don't know exactly... But you've been in a coma; it took us quite a while to get your chakra back to normal."

Aika was quiet. She didn't have any intention to tell Hinata about what happened... But as a thought suddenly crossed her mind...

"Hinata! Who brought me here?"

"I don't know either... You were just put infront of the door."

"Oh... Wakarimashita, arigato ne."

"Hai, doiteshimashite," nodded Hinata before disappearing through the door. Aika's only hope to believe that Neji was still alive was lost.

_--_

_And I've tried to spend my time with somebody new_

_But everyone still reminds me of you_

_I've tried to play some songs to change my point of view_

_But every sound still reminds me of you_

_--_

Aika opened the door to her now once again quiet apartment. She was so sure of what she heard... But it just couldn't be.

She turned to the kitchen and opened one of the drawers to look for some food, but she suddenly noticed the knife that lay on the table. She closed the drawer and took the table, sitting on the chair. She knew that what she heard was real; she knew what she felt was real; but it was just too good to be true. Him? Alive? Only in her dreams and her thoughts. She was just too fed up with pain that she just didn't want to experience it anymore.

She held up her hand with her palm up and lowered the knife to her wrist. If falling from a tower couldn't help her then slitting her wrist will.

She stood up and walked to the balcony, so that people would find her body soon. She got ready, but dropped her knife. She dropped that bedamned knife when she felt his arms around her waist, when she felt his presence behind her.

"Aika?" Neji whispered in her ear.

"Neji!" she whispered, moving to turn around, but the strong arms kept her in place and she couldn't move.

"Yamette."

"Nani ka -?!"

"Live for me," he shushed her, and then he just disappeared.

_- 9 Years Later -_

Disappear.

That was a word she hated deeply with all her heart. Many people whom she cared for disappeared one by one; if they weren't killed, then they were taken away because of age and of illness. And then she was all alone again in the end. Even though she had that gift of being friends with anyone she met (which was the only thing that could make her smile), really, it was all just her in the end. She knew she was going to die old and alone. She just knew it. When Neji came along, though, that little hint of despair was gone with the wind. But when he _disappeared_, it came back again.

Gee, how she hated that word...

But she knew she had to move on. And that's how she ended up in this little cozy house, with a family_. _Yes, a _family_, something she had wanted to have for so long, and now she got it. But not exactly with someone she had wanted. But, it was again, _love_, that brought her to say the three saint words "Yes, I do" in that idiotic holy thing called marriage. Sure, she loved him. Sure, it was a happy family she had, but she just couldn't help feel rather worried and think about what happened to Neji when her Sasuke-kun went off to a mission.

Yes, _Sasuke_, the bastard that she quite hated, but ended up marrying two years later anyway. She didn't know how the hell it happened anyways, she just fell in love and married him. Now they had two girls, the eldest was seven and the youngest was five, and both had the raven black hair that both their parents possessed. The only difference between them were their eyes, one had Aika's mismatched eyes, while the youngest had Sasuke's black eyes.

--

_I've done some walking_

_Listen to the people talk on the street_

_I don't feel lonely _

_--_

Aika sighed. She felt rather like betraying Neji for marrying Sasuke. Sure, he was gone, "told" her that it was okay and all, but she still felt like betraying him. I mean, first love never dies, or so they say. But Aika's thoughts broke as she heard a small, smooth voice from the doorway.

"Kaa-san, come on, you said you were going to take me and Ai to the Himatsuri Festival!! Put your kimono on!!" called a small girl from the doorway. Aika turned and walked over to her eldest daughter. She had those black locks that Sasuke had, and her own mismatched ones, but seeing as the little girl wore her long black hair loose and she had those blank, quiet and mysterious look on her face, she looked like Neji. A lot.

"Satsuki, I told you to wait a second. You go get your imouto, okay?" she said, kneeling down to meet Satsuki's face and brushed a strand of hair from the little girl's eyes.

--

_I saw some movies but your face kept coming back on the screen_

_I think I'm crazy_

_Can't make decisions_

_I could use some more distractions today…_

_--_

"But you have to help me with my hair! I can't wear it loose like this!" pouted the little girl, giving Aika the huge puppy eyes. Aika laughed.

"Honey, you look great like that. But if you want to do something with it, I'll help you, as soon as I'm done myself. Now you go and help your imouto with her kimono, okay?"

"But we'll be late!!!" she insisted. Aika sighed at her daughter's persistence, and rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Satsuki, your Tou-san isn't even home yet. Shinpai shinai de, we'll be there in time. So to keep you busy, just go and –"

"Help Ai with her kimono! But she's done already!! I've taught her to put on the huge ribbon!" she said, nodding her head enthusiastically, with her huge puppy eyes and little pout still painted on her miniature face while Aika chuckled at the word 'huge ribbon', and ruffled her little girl's hair.

"It's called obi, honey. Well, since you're done, why don't you take your sister downstairs and make a cup of o-cha for Tou-san?"

"Hai, hai. But can I have a cookie after this?" she asked inclining her head.

"Sure you can, but you'll have to share with your imouto. And tell you what, I'll put some purple and gold streaks in your hair later."

"Really? But do I hafta share the cookie with Ai?? Is Ai gonna get some streaks too?" she asked, the pout gone, replaced by a happy smile.

"Mochiron, Satsuki. Just stay downstairs and I'll come down in a minute. Now go," she smiled, and kissed Satsuki on her forehead.

"Arigato, Kaa-san!!!" exclaimed the little girl happily, hugging her mother and ran off, calling her imouto's name and leaving Aika alone in her bedroom. She sighed inwardly and put on the black and red kimono with white sakura patterns which lay ready on her bed. She then tied up high her raven hair, almost on top of her head, although it didn't actually made any difference; it was knee-length before she tied it up and it now landed somewhere near her butt. She applied some red and white streaks in her ponytail before putting on her socks and going downstairs, looking for her daughters. She soon spotted them in the kitchen, both munching away a small plate of chocolate cookies.

"Hey, I thought I told you to make tea for Tou-san first, then eat the cookie, not the other way around," commented Aika as she got into the kitchen and hugged both of her girls.

"We did. There," nodded Ai, and then she pointed to the kitchen counter.

"Good girl. Well, who wants to get her hair streaked?" she asked, and the two girls immediately left their cookies behind and glomped their mother, all the while screaming "Me, me, me!!"

"Okay, okay, come here," Aika smiled, and first sat Ai on her lap, tying up the little girl's hair into two ponytails before applying the blue and purple streaks into the tails. Then came Satsuki's turn, who wanted to have four ponytails with yellow and brown streaks. But as Aika did Satsuki's hair, she suddenly remembered about Temari, who had given Aika her fan just days before she died in a mission. How she easily had gotten killed Aika didn't know, but realizing that Temari was just a mere memory now, made Aika feel rather lonely inside.

_--_

_And I've tried to spend my time with somebody new_

_But everyone still reminds me of you_

_I've tried to play some songs to change my point of view_

_But every sound still reminds me of you_

_--_

"Kaa-san, daijoubu desu ka?" Satsuki asked, as she turned on her mother's lap, and wiped her mother's tear away with the sleeve of her red and orange kimono, the yellow sakuras embroidered on it slightly rippling.

"Kaa-san, nakanaide," Ai said, tugging on her mother's kimono.

"Daijoubu," Aika smiled, "I was just thinking of your aunt Temari," she added.

"Didn't auntie die on a mission?" asked Satsuki, as her imouto frowned.

"Kaa-san, who's auntie Temari?" Ai asked, and it suddenly dawned on Aika that Temari only knew of a five-year-old Satsuki and had barely seen Ai.

"She's mommy's best friend," she replied, and then attached the last streak on Satsuki's hair, "Well honey, you're done. Now go to the livingroom and wait for Tou-san. Take the cookies with you, okay?" she ushered them, and as they disappeared into the livingroom with quite a lot of noise, Aika got back upstairs and rummaged in her closet, to find Temari's huge fan. She took it out and examined it.

Ever since Aika got married and Temari, who had became her best friend, learned about Satsuki, Aika's daughter who loved white sakuras at the time, Temari threw away her almost broken fan, and made a new one, with the same style but different painting. The handle was painted blood-red while the steel-made veil was colored jet-black, with Satsuki's favorite white sakuras painted on it. Two weeks later, she gave Aika the fan, along with the black and red kimono that Aika was wearing now, with a quite sad expression on her face. A few days later, she was found dead. Aika had then put away the fan in her closet and never touched it, while she only wore the kimono for rare occasions.

_--_

_I wonder where did I go wrong?_

_What made you gone?_

_How I hate to feel alone…_

_Somebody new…_

_Still reminds me of you…_

_--_

And now was the first time since Temari's death that Aika had opened her closet to take the fan and examine it. Aika stood up and opened the fan, now remembering how huge the fan was. But as she heard squeals downstairs, she quickly folded back the fan and stuck it in the white obi she was wearing, so she could put the fan behind her and take it anywhere she went, just like what Temari did when she was still alive. She then made her way downstairs to find her daughters standing around their father's feet, talking through eachother, telling their daddy what just happened today. She took out the fan and put it against the wall, before parting her daughters from Sasuke.

"Girls, let him breathe! Satsuki, could you be a good aneki and take your imouto upstairs to get me my makeup kit? I still haven't fixed your makeup, did I girls?"

"Can I wear your lipstick?" asked Satsuki.

"Maybe. Now go look for them, it's somewhere hidden in the drawers," she told the two, and as Satsuki and Ai raced their way upstairs, Aika sat down on one of the sofas that faced Sasuke's.

"How was your day?" she asked him.

"Week, you mean. Horrible," Sasuke groaned.

"Met your aniki?"

"No, I only met that crazy blonde and the plant-like guy," he replied rather sourly, revealing a quite nasty wound on his left arm.

"Gee, Deidara and Zetsu? Are they dead?" she asked, walking over to where Sasuke sat, and examined his wound, "Doesn't look too bad, did Deidara do this?"

"Yeah. He blew up a clay bird near my face and seeing as I tried to protect myself, it landed on my arm, the son of a bitch," Sasuke cursed.

"Glad you made it out alive," Aika replied, not a hint of happiness visible neither on her face nor voice (more like sarcastic), as she got up to take a first-aid kit from the kitchen drawers. When she returned, she cleaned up and fixed Sasuke's wound quietly.

"You okay?" Sasuke suddenly asked when she was done with his arm.

"Daijoubu," she answered, a frown on her face.

"Hontou no koto itte, Aika," Sasuke demanded with his tell-me-or-else-look.

"Nani? I'm told you I'm fine. I've been remembering a few things today, that's all. I didn't cry or anything, I mean… uh…"

"Don't try to lie, Ai told me you cried when you did Satsuki's hair and she said that you've been very quiet this whole week," he insisted.

"I –"

"May I also add that Satsuki said you indirectly told them to leave you alone?"

"Look, I'm just being haunted by the past, that's all! I don't feel okay about this whole festival thing, and I certainly don't feel okay about you going on missions routinely like this! Especially when you take S-ranked missions that has everything to do with the Akatsuki just to track down your brother! Don't you realize that they're friggin dangerous?! That you could get killed?!" Aika said, her black hair swaying as she stood up and as Sasuke tugged her back down again.

"You know that I have to-"

"Me o mitte, Sasuke, mada yume o miteru! You don't have to kill him! Youdon't have to stick to this revenge thing! But you _have_ to think about others instead of yourself! It's been years, Sasuke, _years_, and you still haven't given up on him?! Have you ever thought about how many people you've hurt?! Your former teammates, your sensei, your friends, they all care about you but you leave them behind just to chase some guy that doesn't even care about you! Bet you wouldn't even be able to kill him when you finally meet him!" snapped Aika as she rose to her feet once again.

"We've already talked about this," he replied with a glare, standing up as well, and looked right into Aika's icy eyes. Her expression then softened and then her pale hand went up and pressed against her forehead.

"Gomen… It's just that… I don't wanna lose you… Like I did with…" But she just couldn't speak out his name anymore… Luckily Sasuke understood and hugged her.

_--_

_I try to look for something that to hold on to_

_Cause I'm lost and numb without you_

_I tried to find some ways to free me form this blue_

_Cause everything still reminds me of you_

_--_

"Wakatta," he said as she hugged him tighter. But they quickly broke loose when they heard a little voice from the staircase.

"Kaa-san, can I wear pink lipstick?" asked Ai, holding up the lipstick, "And can aneki wear the orange one?" she added when her elder sister came down the stairs, carrying the huge makeup box. Aika faked a smile and walked over to them.

"You just had to ask. Come here, I'll fix you guys," she then turned to Sasuke, "You better get ready, I've already set a black and white one for you on the bed," she told him, and he went up the stairs, passing the two little girls and their mother.

_-Himatsuri Festival, Centre of Konoha-_

As Ai clinged to her mother, Satsuki ran here and there, dragging her father around. Soon, Aika and Ai had lost track of the two, but they didn't make a big deal out of it and kept on walking. On the way, they met Hinata carrying her youngest son, while the second kid, a five-year-old girl called Nana, clinged to her mother and refused to let go of her until she saw Ai. While those two little girls were talking and giggling, Hinata and Aika were also talking.

"Aika-kun! I didn't think I'd find you here. What's with the fan?" greeted Hinata.

"Hi to you too. It's the one that Temari gave me, I decided to bring it along," she replied with a shrug.

"Oh, I knew I've seen the model somewhere… Anyways, meet Toru," she smiled, nodding to the little boy in her arms.

"He's so cute! How old is he?" Aika asked as little Toru grabbed hold of her index finger.

"He's turning two. But it's rather hard to live with three kids, especially when the eldest is just as hyper as his dad… And Nana is really shy, she rather reminds me of myself while I was young," chuckled Hinata, glancing over at her second daughter.

"Talking about dads, where did Naruto and Hiro went off to?" Aika asked, looking around.

"I don't really know. But I know I'll find them at Ichiraku's somewhere around lunch time. By the way, I thought you had two daughters? Where did Satsuki go?"

"I don't know either. But Naruto and Sasuke are friends for life; they'll find eachother. Satsuki is literally dragging her dad around," laughed Aika. Instead, Hinata frowned.

"Sasuke? But I thought Sasuke-kun didn't like events like this?" she asked, "Let alone being dragged around by Satsuki in a festival; he wouldn't even want to accompany you to the hospital when you were pregnant with Ai?"

"He was busy, Hinata. Besides, he's changed. Since I got Ai and she became three, Satsuki turned five but I couldn't spend much time with her, ne? I've got to take care of Ai. So Satsuki clings to her dad. Satsuki is really like Sasuke in some ways, though she's more cheerful, happier and friendlier, then again, not much like Sasuke, huh?"

"I guess… But she's a girl and she grew up with you, the talkative and hyper mother. I wonder what would become of Ai?" joked Hinata, picking up Toru's fallen hat that Nana handed over to her, and stuffed it in her bag.

"If not more hyper like me, then more silent like Sasuke, though I do hope she wouldn't consider 'Silence Is Gold' a motto," she laughed, and Hinata laughed with her. After a long while of more talking, the two mothers decided to look for their husbands. So, they got their kids together and looked in every stand, until they finally gave up and went directly to Ichiraku's. Aika gave the orders and sat Ai and Nana beside eachother. But Hinata had just put Toru in Ai's lap or Sasuke, Naruto, Hiro and Satsuki came barging in. Naruto and Sasuke were having a passive conversation where Naruto blabbed on and on while Sasuke seemed not to be listening, and Satsuki and Hiro were laughing about something, with Satsuki holding a plastic but gigantic shuriken whilst Hiro had a wood-made katana in his hands.

"Tou-chan! Me and Toru met Ai," called Nana from the counter, while she fed her little brother the ramen that Aika had ordered, and made Naruto stop in the middle of a sentence and gave Sasuke a chance to walk away and join Aika for safety.

"Tou-san!! Can I have a little brother too?" asked Ai innocently as soon as his father sat beside her, while she balanced the eating Toru on her lap. Sasuke shook his head at Ai's innocent comment and replied, "You'll have to ask Kaa-san about that, but I'm alright with it, though," he shrugged while Aika pulled an annoyed face and punched him not-so-lightly on the shoulder.

"You wish!" she snapped but with a smile on her face, "You hardly even spend time with me anymore!" At Aika's rather meaningful comment, Naruto and Hinata laughed while the kids didn't get why their parents were laughing about something simple. But the laughing soon stopped when a thundering blow could be heard. Suddenly, a man ran past, yelling to anyone who'd want to hear; "Akatsuki!! The Akatsuki got in Konoha!!"

Hearing Akatsuki, Sasuke immediately ran off, while Naruto followed him after putting on an attempt to stop Sasuke from going. Aika and Hinata scooped up their kids and quickly ran to Sakura's house, which was the nearest house in the neighbourhood.

"SAKURA! OPEN THE DAMNED DOOR!!" Aika yelled and Rukia, Sakura's eleven-year-old daughter opened the door, accompanied by her twin brother Ruki.

"Rukia, where's your mother?" Hinata asked the girl timidly with a slight hint of panic.

"Call mommy," she ordered her brother, and Ruki came back second later, Sakura also appearing by the door with a serious look on her face.

"I heard the Akatsuki managed to get into Konoha?" she asked.

"They did! Sasuke and Naruto already went off! Can we put our kids here? Especially Toru, he's still so small," Hinata begged.

"Ofcourse you can! Kiba already went off too. What about Satsuki and Ai?"

"I'll put them with you too, okay?" Aika sighed.

"Alright."

Then, Hinata and Aika ran off to the main gates. But halfway there, Aika suddenly got knocked down to the ground by a certain blonde, while Hinata was already a long distance away from her.

"Aika-kun!" called Hinata back as she halted in her steps.

"No! Just go! GO! I'll handle him!!" she yelled back at her. As she watched Hinata go, she stood up on her feet and pulled out Temari's fan from her obi.

"D'you really think you can handle me, un?" Deidara asked mockingly, "Especially with only a fan?"

"I sure can," she snapped, and swung the fan towards him, "Tsuki ga Deru no Jutsu!"

"Akh!" Deidara swung his arms infront of him to protect himself, and the force of Aika's fan threw him back, cuts appearing on his cloak and arms out of nowhere.

"Told you," taunted Aika, spreading the fan wider and putting it in front of her to shield her from Deidara. But a clay bird suddenly flew above her and exploded.

"Kuso!" she cursed as she created a shield of winds with her element-controlling ability, thus letting go of her fan and giving a chance for Deidara to attack her. She fell on her back and coughed.

"I don't think that you can even lay a finger on me, un," Deidara mocked, but Aika glared.

"I'll put a punch on you, if that's what you want!" she snapped back and lunged at him, picking up her fan on the way and hitting him with it's sharp blades, forcing him to take a few steps back.

"Bitch!" Deidara yelled, and threw clay spiders all over her fan, exploding it in seconds. Luckily her fan's made of strong steel, so it only scratched it but didn't exactly blow it up. Still, Aika had to close her eyes and back away a bit from the explosions, which again gave the cute gender-confused blonde a chance to jump over her and her fan, thus taking her by the neck and pin his kunai right on her throat.

"Didn't know you were this weak, un. I thought you should've been stronger, un, a lot of years has passed since the lovely day that I blew up Iwagakure," grinned Deidara, "Ne, Sayaka-chan, un?"

"Let go of me, Deidara!" Aika struggled in his grasp, "Sayaka has died in that fire in Iwa and I am not her anymore!"

"Well that's different from what I heard, un. Married the Uchiha brat, didn't you? What happened to the long-haired pretty-boy, un? Just face it, Sayaka-chan, un, you'll never live happy as long as I'm still here, un," Deidara whispered by her ear, pressing the kunai tighter to the surface of her pale skin, "I'll get rid of everything that is your happiness. Too bad I'll have to kill those two cute little girls of yours too."

"I beg to differ, Deidara," Aika growled angrily, and elbowed him right in his stomach, "You will never _ever_ lay a single finger on my daughters!!"

Deidara immediately let go of her and Aika stumbled forward to grab her fan, standing up and bit her thumb, drawing blood. She quickly drew some symbols on her fan and had her next attack ready.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu; Tenshi no Tsubasa!" she called out, and as she waved the fan to activate her jutsu, a winged white fox and cat showed up from nowhere, clawing their sharp claws on Deidara.

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily as her two pets disappeared in a puff of smoke. But so did Deidara's body actually, replaced by a log.

_Kawarimi?_ she thought, and looked around in alarm, but she didn't find anything or anyone. Instead, she felt a sharp pain somewhere by her stomach and Deidara suddenly appeared in front of her with a grin.

"Akh!" Aika gasped, coughing up a bit of blood over Deidara's lips, which he licked clean from Aika's pale lips and his own.

"You taste sweet. Love you," he said teasingly, as if he just said it for kicks, and kissed her briefly on her lips before pulling back, taking the kunai with him. He walked past her as she fell on her knees to the ground and lost consciousness.

"I always have, my little sister, I always have," Deidara mumbled to himself as he heard Aika's body fall. He smiled a sad, regretful smile and ran off.

_--_

_And I've tried to spend my time with somebody new_

_But everyone still reminds me of you_

_I've tried to play some songs to change my point of view_

_But every sound still reminds me of you_

_--_

_-After the Fight-_

All of the Konoha ninjas and ANBU had taken care of everything and even though they have failed to capture the Akatsuki, they have at least secured all of the villagers. Every single ANBU member has been combing the whole village for bodies and that was when they had found three dead bodies, Yamanaka Ino, Kuroyanagi Tanaka and Takada Kireina.

Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata were puzzled, though. Where did Aika go?

The three attended the funeral as quickly as they could and went off to look for her. They couldn't find her anywhere, though, not even by the outskirts of Konoha. Sasuke, who was rather stressed by now, immediately went home with a hint of anger as soon as Naruto returned to tell him that he couldn't even find any tracks of her. The couple followed him though. Sasuke flopped down on the sofa, thinking about where else Aika could've been fighting.

"It's awfully quiet, isn't it?" Hinata suddenly commented, appearing from the stairs, walking down, "Where are Satsuki and Ai?"

Sasuke bolted up, growling, and headed straight for the backyard. There his two daughters were, with Satsuki writing on the sand with a stick and Ai on her lap, sleeping next to her. A comforting breeze brushed across their faces as Sasuke picked his youngest daughter up and glanced at Satsuki's writing.

"What the?" he mumbled, and Naruto approached him.

"Nani kore, teme?"

"Seiryuu," he answered, his eyes still fixed on the huge kanji that Satsuki had made.

_She's supposed to know katakana and hiragana only! She's only seven, for Christ's sake!_ Sasuke thought, because Satsuki had just written "青 龍" which means "Azure Dragon" or "Seiryuu". It was the symbol that Deidara wore on his finger, actually, and Sasuke knew that. But his mind was focused on something else.

"Seiryuu? Didn't Aika name a tree like that?" Naruto guessed, and Sasuke nodded absent-mindedly.

"Seiryuu no Ki…" Sasuke mumbled, and he turned to Hinata, "Hinata, could you take them to your house? Let them play and don't let them out of your sight, okay?"

"Okay," Hinata nodded, and she took Ai from Sasuke's arms, telling Satsuki to come along with her. The two ninjas left the indigo kunoichi behind and went off to the outskirts of Konoha.

Seiryuu no Ki or The Azure Dragon's Tree is literally a tree that Aika named like it because when you sat on top of it, you could directly see an utterly indigo landscape, from the hills, mountains and sky to the rivers below. She also named it like that because that was where Deidara had put her to keep her away from both harm and the Iwa accident, but she didn't ever mention this one particular thing to nobody.

The two men were right and they found her on top of that tree. Her pale eyes were shut and there was a faint, content smile on her lips, her now pale face facing the beautiful indigo scenery. She was leaning against the huge trunk with one leg dangling from the branch, one hand covering the wound on her stomach while the other hand held a black Konoha head-protector. A trail of blood was apparent by the corner of her lips, not yet caked, meaning that she had just passed away probably only a few hours only. It looked like as if she was lost inside a deep, peaceful slumber.

"Aika…" Sasuke mumbled and he immediately shot forward to check her pulse.

"Hey… Isn't this supposed to be -?" Naruto piped up, taking the protector from her limp fingers. He eyed the piece in his hand and noticed the purple head-protector around Aika's neck.

Sasuke stared at Naruto as Naruto stared back, worrying his lips. They knew the owner of the black forehead-protector. They also knew Aika's soul has already left.

"She's happy now, I guess," Naruto tried to comfort, and Sasuke nodded.

"I guess," he agreed in a whisper as he picked her small body up gently, taking her back home.

At the funeral, Sasuke's two daughters didn't even react. They didn't cry because they were too young, that's obvious, but they didn't even ask to their dad why their mom was lying in a coffin or why the hell she wouldn't wake up. They didn't ask anyone the usual questions children would ask, to be honest, they didn't even talk anything _at all_. As the funeral ended, Sasuke took his daughters home, accompanied by his best friends, Hinata and Naruto.

As they reached his house, Hinata immediately took Hiro, Nana and Toru to the backyard to play with Satsuki and Ai. She stayed there, though, accompanying them, because she could feel the faint killing aura radiating off of Sasuke and she knew that only Naruto could calm him down. So she left her husband to talk in the livingroom. And that was exactly what Naruto was doing, calming Sasuke down. With Aika gone, it was going to be quite hard for Sasuke to watch over his two girls. Not to mention the feeling of loss hanging over him.

"How're you feeling?" Naruto asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know. I've lost too many people around me it doesn't even make a difference anymore. But I'm sad also. Can you explain that to me?"

"Heh. I'm not good with emotions, teme, you know that," Naruto answered with a toothy grin.

"Yeah, being the idiot you are. Why were they so quiet? They were so calm it's not even normal," Sasuke commented harshly, but Naruto didn't take notice and just frowned.

"Who? Your girls?"

"Mochiron, who else? I'm gonna go to the back. Maybe I can coax something out of them. Satsuki reminds me so much of her," Sasuke mumbled, and he walked off, Naruto following close behind.

But as they reached the spot where the kids were playing, the two men noticed that Hinata looked confused and has obviously beat Sasuke into interrogating his eldest daughter. Satsuki had tears rolling down her cheeks and Hiro was wiping the tears off while Ai's head was on Nana's lap, an odd blank look on her cute face as Nana gently stroked her hair. Hinata, who was carrying a sleeping Toru, looked up and gently smiled at the two men.

"Satsuki suddenly shed tears but she's not crying at all. I asked Ai why she didn't cry but she wouldn't speak up. Then Nana said that Ai was quiet because she didn't know who, um, died," Hinata informed the two hesitantly. Sasuke licked his lips in thought and finally decided to approach his eldest daughter, sitting beside her and putting her onto his lap.

"Hey, Tsuki, why were you so quiet at the funeral?" Sasuke asked, softly and gently and as father-like as possible, but it was Ai who answered timidly, "We don't know who died."

"Why should we cry for strangers?" Satsuki added quietly.

All three adults frowned and Sasuke stared at Hinata for explanation but she only shrugged and shook her head.

"But that's your mother, Satsuki, Aika wa kimi no haha."

"So dewa arimasen! Mommy's right here," Ai denied with a pout and Satsuki nodded in agreement.

"She just dropped by to say goodbye. Then tears fell from my eyes. Where is she going, daddy?"

"I don't know either, girls, but I'm sure she'll be happy there. Where's Mommy now?" Sasuke asked curiously at how good his girls could lie.

"There," Ai answered, sitting up and pointing at the darkening sky, "She went when you came over to ask us. She promised she'll be back."

Everyone there, including Hinata's kids and excluding the Uchiha girls, seemed rather doubtful. Satsuki then circled her arms around her dad's neck and hugged him.

"I miss her already, Tou-san. When will she be back?" she asked, and Sasuke shook his head as a soft breeze swept over their faces.

"I don't know, honey, but -"

"She left a message," Ai suddenly spoke up and Satsuki nodded, detached herself from her dad, walking down to where Ai was laying and took a random wooden stick, and started writing on the earth.

あした ぁなた に ぼく が みぇなくて も きーと かゎらず あぃしてぃる〭

"This is what she told me. Is it correct?"

"It's in screwed Hiragana, I thought Tsuki-chan was good at kanji?" Naruto commented.

"Naruto-kun, she's only seven. She's only writing down what she heard letter by letter," Hinata pointed out in a whisper.

"_Even if tomorrow you can't see me, I'll still love you without fail_. Does that mean that Aika's still alive?"

"Probably saying that she'll still love him from the grave," Hinata shrugged, "The only problem is, where did Satsuki hear it from?"

At the meantime, Sasuke was just staring at those letters, thinking over those words, while Satsuki attached herself onto Hiro and Ai walked over to her father.

"Don't worry daddy, mommy's here with us," the little girl smiled, and Sasuke smiled too.

"I guess you're right."

_- 11 Years Later -_

It's been a few years since Aika died and Sasuke had managed to go on without her. He had never married another woman, though.

The two girls have grown into teenagers and Satsuki is the youngest jounin you can find in Konoha. Naruto and Hinata are planning on marrying Satsuki with Hiro and Sasuke agreed after a huge effort of persuasion done by Ai and Nana. Ai has become the best of friends with Nana and the two often take missions together. The two Uchiha siblings are going through puberty just fine, with a bit of help from Hinata, who is taking the role as a mother-figure to the two girls. Satsuki is constantly laughing at Ai's miserable relationship with Yuuri because Sasuke just loves his daughters too much and would actually never have agreed on Satsuki's relationship with Hiro if he wasn't Naruto's son. So Ai's chance on actually getting any further with Yuuri was small, but Satsuki always helped her by talking her dad into it.

Everything was fine and nothing else could go wrong. Satsuki's gotten engaged and is marrying Hiro in a year; Ai is becoming a responsible young woman; Hinata is now like a mother to those two girls; Naruto is always there to keep Sasuke in the right track; and Sasuke is doing just fine without anybody by his side.

On one sunny day, Naruto and Sasuke were sitting down inside Ichiraku's ramen, waiting for Hinata to come and give Sasuke a huge surprise. They waited in a passive conversation as Naruto blabbed on and Sasuke stayed quiet, as usual. Then he felt a pat on his shoulder.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, I've brought my friend along," Hinata announced and as the two men turned, they stared for what felt like ages at the tall woman in front of them.

She has mismatched (red left, brown right) eyes, brown-banged black hair, and a smile that miserably failed to cover the sorrow in her eyes. She looked exactly like Aika and that fact took the two men aback.

"Her name's Nakano Ame and she's so much alike Aika!" Hinata whispered to the two of them, "She has lost her whole family in some mission accident or something, and she apparently got saved the day Aika-kun passed away."

"Hajimemashite, Uzumaki-san, Uchiha-san," she bowed, and as she took a step forward to shake Sasuke's hand, she whispered,

"_Ashita anata ni boku ga mienakute mo, kitto kawarazu aishiteru… _Sasuke-kun."

--

_Still reminds me of you…_

_--_

_**OWARI**_


End file.
